The present invention is directed to an improved leaf and debris deflecting cover strip or device for a rain gutter and which has a construction similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,965 which issued to the present applicant. As disclosed in the patent, an open top rain gutter has a front wall with an upper edge or channel portion and is mounted on the fascia board of a building directly under the outer edge portion of a roof covering. The cover device or strip may be formed as a one-piece extrusion of semi-rigid plastics material such as polyvinylchloride and with a generally uniform thickness. The strip includes a generally flat inner portion which projects under the roof covering and which continues outwardly to cover a substantial portion of the gutter for directing water received from the roof covering over the substantial portion of the gutter. The strip also includes a longitudinally extending outer flange and support portion which seats on the upper channel portion of the gutter and projects outwardly and downwardly from the channel portion to form a projecting flange or lip portion.
The outer portion of the strip is integrally connected to the inner portion of the strip by a longitudinally extending intermediate portion which has a longitudinally extending nose disposed above the outer portion of the strip and a longitudinally extending inclined channel having bottom openings or slots disposed below the outer portion of the strip and adjacent the upper channel portion of the gutter. The nose is effective to direct the water received from the inner portion downwardly into the channel by a coanda effect and through the slots into the gutter and is also effective to deflect leaves and other debris outwardly onto the outer portion of the strip and to the ground from the projecting lip portion. The generally flat and semi-rigid inner portion of the strip has sufficient strength to support heavy snow and ice loads and also prevents the buildup of ice dams within the gutter.
As illustrated in the above patent, the gutter cover device or extruded vinyl strip is preferably produced in elongated sections or strips having a length of several feet such as 3xe2x80x2 or 4xe2x80x2, and the sections are tilted on the upper channel portion of the gutter to accommodate different elevations of the gutter or a gutter which slopes relative to the roof covering. However, it has been found that as the gutter cover strips or sections are tilted at different angles along the length of a sloping gutter, slight undesirable steps are produced between the outer flange or lip portions of adjacent strips or sections. The different tilting of the gutter cover strips or sections also changes the angle of the inclined channel of each strip and prevents the channel from being at a uniform and optimum incline angle along the entire length of the gutter to ensure that small leaves and debris are deflected to the outer portion of each strip.
It is known to form perforated plastic gutter covers or strips from thin flexible material or with a thin flexible hinge section along the inner portion of the gutter cover which projects under the roof covering to accommodate different roof pitches. However, such gutter covers become distorted or concaved in time and do not provide the advantages of the gutter cover device disclosed in the above-mentioned patent.
The present invention is directed to an improved cover device for deflecting leaves and other debris over an open top rain gutter to the ground and for directing rain water from a roof covering into the gutter. The gutter cover or device of the invention solves the problems described above and provides an effective gutter cover which can be efficiently produced in elongated strips or sections and can be quickly installed so that all of the sections along the length of a gutter have a uniform position and appearance with respect to the upper edge portion of the gutter along its entire length regardless of the elevation of the gutter relative to the roof covering.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, an elongated gutter section or strip is extruded of a semi-rigid plastics material and includes a generally flat inner portion which projects under the roof covering. The inner portion is integrally connected by a thin flexible hinge section to a generally flat first intermediate portion which continues outwardly from the inner portion to cover a substantial portion of the gutter and to direct water received from the roof covering over a substantial portion of the gutter. Each strip or section also includes a longitudinally extending outer support portion positioned to seat on the upper edge portion of the gutter. A longitudinally extending second intermediate portion is integrally connected to the outer portion and is also integrally connected to the first intermediate portion by a second thin flexible hinge section having a thickness substantially thinner than the thickness of the first intermediate portion.
The second intermediate portion includes a longitudinally extending nose disposed above the outer portion of the strip and a longitudinally extending inclined channel having longitudinally spaced openings or slots below the outer portion of the strip and adjacent the upper edge or channel portion of the gutter. The nose directs the water received from the first intermediate portion of the strip downwardly into the channel and into the gutter through the slots and deflect leaves and other debris outwardly onto the outer portion of the strip for falling to the ground. The first flexible hinge section of the strip provides for accommodating roofs of different pitches. The second flexible hinge section provides for pivoting the first intermediate portion relative to the second intermediate portion for accommodating a sloping gutter with a changing elevation relative to the roof covering without pivoting the outer portion and the second intermediate portion of the strip relative to the gutter.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.